Holy Sexuality and the Gospel: Sex, Desire, and Relationships Shaped by God's Grand Story

From the author ofOut of a Far Country, which details his dramatic conversion from an agnostic gay man who put his identity in his sexuality to a Bible professor who now puts his identity in Christ alone, comes a gospel-centered discussion of sex, desire, and relationships.

Dr. Christopher Yuan explores the concept of holy sexuality--chastity in singleness or faithfulness in marriage--in a practical and relevant manner, equipping readers with an accessible yet robust theology of sexuality. Whether you want to share Christ with a loved one who identifies as gay or you're wrestling with questions of identity yourself, this book will help you better understand sexuality in light of God's grand story and realize that holy sexuality is actually good news for all.

Author(s):

CHRISTOPHER YUAN, DMin, has taught at the Moody Bible Institute for over ten years and his speaking ministry on faith and sexuality has reached five continents. He speaks at conferences, on college campuses, and in churches. He co-authored with his mother, Angela, their memoir (now in seven languages), Out of a Far Country: A Gay Son's Journey to God, A Broken Mother's Search for Hope. He is also the author of Giving a Voice to the Voiceless. Dr. Yuan holds degrees from Moody Bible Institute, Wheaton College, and Bethel Seminary.

Endorsements:

"The Bible is the most important book the world has for all generations. The Bible is our guide to faith and life. Nothing can compete with it or improve it. But in Dr. Christopher Yuan’s Holy Sexuality and the Gospel, you are holding in your hands the most important humanly composed book about biblical sexuality and godly living for our times."—Rosaria Butterfield, PhD, speaker and author of The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert, Openness Unhindered, and The Gospel Comes with a House Key.

“I read a lot of books, and Holy Sexuality and the Gospel is on the shortlist of most important books I’ve read in the past decade. There’s a desperate need for a biblically astute and theologically grounded yet warm and personal approach to human identity and how it does and doesn’t relate to gender and sexuality. This is that book. Holy Sexuality and the Gospel is profoundly relevant in an age of toxic confusion. It should be read by every person questioning their sexual identity as well as by every pastor, parent, friend, or sibling.”—Randy Alcorn, author of Heaven, Happiness, and The Purity Principle and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries

“A truly breathtaking book that unpacks the soul issues of gender. This book not only gets at the heart of sexuality; it gets at the heart of the gospel. Yuan is an insightful thinker and keen storyteller.”—J. D. Greear, author of Not God Enough, sixty-second president of the Southern Baptist Convention, and pastor of the Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, NC

“In a world with many opinions surrounding sexuality, Christopher Yuan has given the church and beyond a resource tethered in something much more concrete—that is, the Word of God. And for that reason, I believe this book can lead many into the truth that will set anybody and everybody free.”—Jackie Hill-Perry, poet, speaker, artist, and author of Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I Was and Who God Has Always Been

“Dr. Christopher Yuan has done something deeply and desperately needed: he has told the great story of what the Bible says about sexuality—and about same-sex attractions—in a way that neither compromises the truth nor the love that is at the heart of that story. God’s overwhelming love for us is expressed in his passion for us to be holy even as he is holy. So he never calls us to mere celibacy or mere happiness but to a transcendent holiness and joy. That is the fullness and the glory of walking with the God who died for us—and God forbid that we should settle for anything less.”—Eric Metaxas, New York Times best-selling author of Bonhoeffer: Prophet, Martyr, Pastor, Spy, and Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World

“Christopher Yuan is a leader of courage, conviction, and compassion whose life story echoes with amazing grace. This book offers a practical, grounded Christian vision of sexuality in a world culture confused by and obsessed with sex. As the church thinks through how to engage our neighbors on issues such as sexual orientation and gender identity, and on how to disciple our brothers and sisters in Christ who grapple with such temptations, this book will be of immense help.”—Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention

“What a gift Christopher Yuan is to the body of Christ. His journey into ‘a far country’ and back home into union with Christ has led him to grapple with hard questions we are all asking (or need to be asking) these days about sexuality, identity, sanctification (both the process and the goal), and what it means to mortify sin and wage war against idols of the heart. In his treatment of these important topics, Christopher is at once humble, compassionate, insightful, and unwaveringly committed to holiness, the authority of Scripture, and the glory of God. Penning this book no doubt required intense exertion and great courage. Thank you, Christopher, for being willing to stay the course—for the sake of us all and, preeminently, for Christ’s sake.”—Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, author, teacher, and host of Revive Our Hearts

“When it comes to sexuality, singleness, and marriage, we need all the good books we can get. And we certainly need this book from Christopher Yuan. Holy Sexuality and the Gospel is part biblical exposition, part theological exploration, and part pastoral exhortation. Christopher has given us a clear-eyed and warm-hearted work that will inspire and encourage the weary as well as instruct and (gently) correct those who have been more shaped by the culture than by the way of Christ.”—Kevin DeYoung, senior pastor of Christ Covenant Church in Matthews, NC, and assistant professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC

“I’m so very thankful for Christopher Yuan and his faithfulness in the ministry entrusted to him. I’m grateful that he has become a voice of clarity in the midst of so much theological and sexual confusion. I pray that many will heed his clarion call to a holy sexuality.”—Tim Challies, blogger, book reviewer, and author of Do More Better

“If you’re looking for a book on what the Bible teaches about sexuality, you’ve found a good one—one of the best, in fact, that I’ve read. But this book is so much more. It’s an inspiring call to take up our cross and follow Jesus, who’s worth everything to those he loves. I’m praying that God will raise up an entire generation like Christopher Yuan, who will lead us in courage and compassion so the world might know that Jesus saves.”—Collin Hansen, editorial director of the Gospel Coalition and coauthor of A God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories that Stretch and Stir

“Holy Sexuality and the Gospel is simply remarkable. This book will reignite your imagination for the gospel and how the gospel shapes our sexuality. He writes with the pen of a theologian, but he also has the heart of someone who knows this issue from personal experience. This book will be required reading for the Transformation Church staff and a resource for our entire church.”—Derwin L. Gray, DMin, lead pastor of Transformation Church in Fort Mill, SC, and author of Limitless Life: You Are More Than Your Past When God Holds Your Future

“Holy Sexuality and the Gospel is not just a book; it is a treatise on image-bearing, encompassing all of the facets of being human. The writing is compelling yet grounded biblically and theologically. The subject of human sexuality is confusing and divisive in these days. This is a fresh voice and approach including much research, yet it offers examples of living out the truth both personally and for the community of believers—a way forward toward unity.”—Jo Anne Lyon, general superintendent emerita and ambassador of the Wesleyan Church

“My friend Christopher Yuan has written a book as biblically sound and culturally self-aware as it is pastorally driven. In Holy Sexuality and the Gospel, Christopher understands that cultural debates and scriptural debates are driven by even deeper currents: identity and belief. As Christopher writes, ‘The apostle Paul says that in Christ “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Thus, my identity is not gay, ex-gay, or even straight. My true identity is in Jesus Christ alone.’ That’s what our society needs to hear. I cannot recommend Holy Sexuality and the Gospel highly enough. It is a scandalous book for our age because it calls and draws readers to a bigger horizon than what secularism and theological liberalism offer. The book tackles tough issues ravaging the culture and the local church but does it with a tenor of wisdom and grace.”—Andrew T. Walker, PhD, director of policy studies at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and author of God and the Transgender Debate

“Does the Bible have anything to say about sexual orientation? Does God call homosexuals to heterosexuality? What do parents do when their child says ‘I’m gay’? Christopher Yuan has reduced these complex, controversial questions to one simple answer: ‘With same-sex attractions, the problem is sin, and the gospel is the answer.’ Christopher is absolutely right: We are called to holiness, to holy sexuality, to reflecting the image of God in every aspect of our lives. This is a clearly written, biblically grounded, theologically sound exposition. It’s important reading for singles, for married couples, for pastors, and for all those struggling with same-sex attractions.”—Michael L. Brown, PhD, host of the Line of Fire radio broadcast and author of Can You Be Gay and Christian?

“Christopher Yuan’s work tells us that one thing counts most—our identity in Christ and the enablement that comes with it. As he shows, such a focus helps us in all of life, especially in the areas of sexuality, sexual identity, marriage, singleness, and the community that meets needs of intimacy and family. Biblical balance in all of these areas can be a challenge in our culture, especially in knowing how to love and how to converse on these issues. This book does an excellent job of showing the way.”—Darrell L. Bock, executive director for cultural engagement at the Howard G. Hendricks Center for Christian Leadership and Cultural Engagement and senior research professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, TX

“Dr. Christopher Yuan combines his own gripping story with astute biblically grounded insights into the whole matter of our true identity and its relation to our sexuality. God has a grand design for human flourishing, and this book presents it so engagingly. Dr. Yuan’s big idea—clearly written and argued—is holy sexuality as a key to human flourishing. The tone is gracious throughout, and yet the book is uncompromising in its biblical fidelity. I hope that this work is distributed widely and read deeply.”—Graham A. Cole, ThD, dean and vice president of education and professor of biblical and systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL

“Holy Sexuality and the Gospel is a book that must be read by every serious Christian. Yuan brings a wonderful balance of biblical insight and practical application for how Christians can thoughtfully address some of the toughest issues of sex and relationships today. And yet his unflinching commitment to the gospel comes through on every page. I could not recommend the book more highly.”—Sean McDowell, PhD, associate professor of Christian apologetics at Biola University in La Mirada, CA, speaker, and coauthor of Evidence That Demands a Verdict

“This is a book about sexual sanity, and God knows we need it. Our culture has unhinged sexuality from spiritual and biological realities and loaded it with a weight it is not designed to bear. It was never meant to define us. It cannot make our dreams come true. It will not complete us. As a gift of God kept in perspective, sexuality is wonderful. As an idol, it is terrible. More than ever, we need to know what holy sexuality is.”—Jon Bloom, author, board chair, and cofounder of Desiring God

“Christopher Yuan pivots from human sexuality to holy sexuality as he writes with passion and compassion, scholarship and spirituality, personal experience and practical expertise.”—Leith Anderson, DMin, president of the National Association of Evangelicals